Hunterdon group wants Gov. Whitman to help slow down development

(Editor's Note: This is a copy of a letter sent to Gov.
Christine Whitman.)

As I have so many times on past occasions written to you about
the state of over development within our dear state of New Jersey,
governor, I must say again you and your office have always
responded and always in a favorable way to the concerns I and
others have had on the advance of sprawl.

With the guidance of your office and that of the other state
officials in the DEP (Department of Environmental Protection),
state Planning Commission and COAH (Council on Affordable Housing),
we have been able to get through the maze involving orderly
development and understanding what can and what cannot be
accomplished.

We, the residents of the Hunterdon County are really pleased
with the efforts of the DEP, citing the responsiblity of the
townships as far as local planning and land use.

Governor, I and others have become quite involved in the process
and work with the Highlands Coalition, Sierra Club, state
legislators, and even went so far as to go to Washington, D.C., at
the federal level to get support.

But you, governor, and the state agencies have been our best
allies in this struggle against sprawl. Our local bodies of
government seemed to be overwhelmed by the power of the development
establishment and are prone to cave-in at most turns.

We have just recently formed the Hunterdon Coalition made up of
some local officials and activists from the entire county who
recognize the need to give an avenue to residents who are
frustrated and don't know how to start to battle against sprawl.
This format will be an avenue for contacts and information for all
those, and there are many who want to stop sprawl.

Governor, you are quite aware of the value of the Highlands
section of our dear state and I know you are doing many things to
help stop sprawl in this.

But governor, some of us have come across a series of events
that are very disturbing. We have connected the dots and the
picture isn't pretty.

The Route 78 and Route 22 corridor is the Achilles Heel of the
entire Highlands of New Jersey and over development along that
section will spell the death knell to the entire western portion of
the state.

We have also put together the connections of some developers and
engineering companies in each of the major developments along that
corridor and the fact that they all are coordinating with the same
water conglomerate.

It really means that the developers have entered into a scheme
with the large water utility for a much larger plan, a plan that
might ruin the entire region with overdevelopment, all working
against the efforts of the state, the Highland Coalition and the
wishes of the public. We had an example of that at a planning board
meeting in Union Township on Feb. 7, when under oath an expert from
Elizabethtown Water admitted that they were giving the water supply
system to K. Hovanian, the developer for the Milligan Farm Project
for nothing, because they wanted expansion.

Elizabthtown Water's purchase by Thames Water out of England
seems like a very bad idea for our citizens.

We decry the cost of oil when a foreign cartel raises prices,
but we can live months without oil, but only four days without
water. Water seems low on the totem pole to most, but you and I
know that if its cost rises, then so does everything.

Thames Water's interests are only expansion and could care less
about whether or not New Jersey retains open space, or the
residents of Hunterdon County, to them sprawl is money and profits.
So are the few developers that are involved. Sprawl represents
profits and as soon as they can get their plan in place by getting
the Route 78 and Route 22 corridor mapped out with these huge
developments and over capacity water supply systems they will
circumvent the executive order to not develop where there isn't
water and sewer infrastruture.

We have connected the dots, governor, and you being familiar
with the area can readily see this has started with the huge
development in Bridgewater Township, North Branch section by
Milltown Road and Route 28, Orchard Meadows, then the next one in
Readington Township, Cushetunk in Whitehouse Station, then the
proposed Windy Acres Project Clinton Township along Route 22, the
Milligan Farm Project in Union Township along Route 78 and the
possible purchases in Bethlehem Township by the same developer
along Route 78.

If all these developments are completed they will affect the
entire state to the point of no return and even though what the
developers are doing is within bounds of legality, this scenario
will affect tens of thousands of the state's residents to the point
of quality of life, financial loss and control of
self-determination. When a foreign entity will control the water
supply under our ground, then there is something wrong with this
picture. In the case of the Milligan Farm project, the cost of the
water supply to the new residents will be 91 percent higher than if
the developer would had gone with the local water supply authority
(Clinton Water Supply) and this is documented and for some curious
reason the de veloper cut off negotiations in 1998 to go with
Elizabethtown Water now owned b y Thames Water, the fourth largest
water supplier in the world and it comes to light that they, the
water company, are giving the system to the developer for
nothing.

The state Board of Public Utilities (BPU) has just approved the
purchase of E-Town by Thames on Oct. 13 and Thames has just been
acquired by RWE out of Germany and now the conglomerate is the
third largest water supplier in the world. The same water company
is involved with each of the projects and as citizens we don't feel
that it is right a foreign entity should control our
water.

Water is the most important commodity in this century, far above
anything else, and if we don't watch out we will have some very
large problems.

Governor, we need someone at the highest level to look into what
is going on here, all that the development establishment is doing
here, flies in the face of Executive order No. 109 and the State
Master Plan, the very wishes and desire of the people, the
economics of the state, the lives of hundreds of thousands of
citizens and only benefits a few large developers, local engineers,
planners and a huge water conglomerate. Governor we need help and
need it very quickly before the shovels go into the
ground.

Watch this discussion.Stop watching this discussion.

(0) comments

Welcome to the discussion.

Be Yourself. We do not accept and will not approve
anonymous comments. If your username is not your name, please sign
your posts as you would a letter to the editor with your full name
and hometown.Keep it Clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd,
racist or sexually-oriented language.PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK.Don't Threaten. Threats of harming another
person will not be tolerated.Be Truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone
or anything.Be Nice. No racism, sexism or any sort of -ism
that is degrading to another person.Be Proactive. Use the 'Report' link on
each comment to let us know of abusive posts.Share with Us. We'd love to hear eyewitness
accounts, the history behind an article.

Online Poll

In recent weeks, Long Hill Township and Watchung Borough passed ordinances allowing their police departments to be able to apply for surplus equipment from the Department of Defense. Long Hill recently procured a Humvee to use in times of flooding, which Watchung states as the reason they are getting into the program. However, in cities around the country, police forces have used the program to obtain military gear, such as weapons and armor.
For more background, go to the link below
http://www.newjerseyhills.com/echoes-sentinel/news/watchung-police-department-hopes-to-receive-equipment-from-department-of/article_12ad002a-92b3-5449-a2cc-4b2cf0ce4339.html